The present invention relates to an absorbent article in the form of a sanitary napkin, a panty liner or an incontinence protector for women, comprising an absorbent body which is sandwiched between a liquid-permeable and a liquid-impermeable outer sheet, and having a front part which is intended to face forwards where the article is worn, and a rear part, wherein the absorbent body has a length of 140-260 mm and tapers rearwardly from a section of greatest width situated in the front part of the napkin down to the end of said rear part.
A sanitary napkin of this kind is intended to be worn in so-called string panties, the rear portion of the crotch part of which is extremely narrow. String panties are primarily worn for aesthetic reasons and are practically invisible even when worn beneath tightly fitting garments. Naturally, high demands are placed on sanitary napkins that shall be worn together with string panties, which napkins must have a very narrow rear portion and also be very thin so that they can be worn discretely. Such napkins shall also fulfil requirements relating to effective absorption properties and shall also be comfortable to wear.
The object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article of the aforedescribed kind that fulfils discretion requirements without detracting from the absorption properties and comfort of the article.
This object is achieved with an absorbent article in the form of a sanitary napkin, a panty liner or an incontinence protector for women that includes an absorbent body enclosed between a liquid-permeable outer sheet and a liquid-impermeable outer sheet, said article having a front part which is intended to face forwards when the article is worn, and a rear part, wherein the absorbent body has a length of 140-260 mm and tapers rearwardly from a section of greatest width situated in the front part of the napkin to the end of the rear part thereof, and wherein the article is characterised in that the absorbent body has a greatest width of 60-80 mm in its front part, and a smallest width of 5-20 mm in its rear part, and includes a layer of dry-formed cellulose fibre having a density of at least 250 g/m3 and extending over substantially the whole of the absorbent body, right out to its front and side edges. Because the layer of dry-formed fibres extends over substantially the entire absorbent body, the absorbent properties of said material can be fully utilised, and because the layer has been given a high density, and therewith has fine capillaries, the layer is able to effectively disperse discharged liquid in the layer. This enables the absorbent body to be made thin. Furthermore, the dimensions of the article together with the physical properties of the absorbent layer enable the article to be worn comfortably.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the layer of dry-formed cellulose fibres has a weight per unit area of 200-600 g/m2 and the absorbent body also includes a layer of material that has good liquid acquisition properties and that extends over the whole of the layer of dry-formed cellulose fibres and beyond said layer to the rear end-part of the absorbent body. The material having good liquid acquisition properties may be comprised of a fibre wadding of cellulose fibres, synthetic fibres or mixtures thereof. The article will also preferably include outwardly projecting, flexible flaps which extend outwardly of the absorbent body on respective sides thereof, along a part of the tapering portion of said body. The flaps may form integral parts of at least one of the outer sheets. The article also includes at least one fastener means on that part of the napkin which includes the absorbent body and on at least one flap, for fastening the article to a panty. The fastener means may conveniently comprise strings of pressure-sensitive glue, e.g. hotmelt glue.